Play yards and playpens for babies and young children are well known and many variations have been marketed over the years. Low portable cribs have also been used as playpens. For reasons of economy and space conservation it has been practical to find additional uses for playpens, such as bassinets and changing tables if such additional uses can be accomplished by means of easy alterations or adjustments that are reversible.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,548,769, Burgin teaches a crib that can be lowered for use as a playpen. Shamie, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,470 teaches a portable playpen that can be converted to a changing or dressing table. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,336, Mariol adds an upper level to a playpen to provide a bassinet. The short legs of the upper level are inserted into openings in the top of the vertical supports of the playpen. Saldana, U.S. Pat. No. 2,691,176, teaches a unit designed for home and travel that may be used as a support for a playpen, bassinet or baby chair. U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,827 to Fong et al. discloses a foldable playpen unit. Bedside cribs that attach to the parents' bed were known at the turn of the century (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,548,005; 620,069; 1,138,451; 1,283,169; 1,267,244)but fell out of favor for many years. Recently there has been a resurgence in the practice of having babies sleep adjacent the parents' bed. Such bed-side cribs are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,435 to Griffin et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,655 to Van Winkle et al. and to Tharalson et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,561.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a single unit that, with quick and easy adjustments, can be adapted for several different purposes, including a playpen, a bassinet, a changing table and a co-sleeper.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a unit that can be converted to a co-sleeper that is an improvement over the prior art, that rests on four legs, with or without attached wheels, will not lift, tip or buck and that is secured to the parents' bed with a safety strap so it cannot slide away from the bed.
It is a further objective to provide a co-sleeper that is adaptable to both U.S. and European bed heights, including means of securing the co-sleeper to beds of both heights. Means should be provided to permit the co-sleeper mattress to be positioned at heights within the co-sleeper suitable for positioning adjacently to both U.S. and European bed surfaces. Likewise, means for adjusting the mattress cover to minimize any excess fabric when switching between U.S. and European mattress height adjustments should be provided.
Another objective of the present invention is to allow conversion to a co-sleeper while still maintaining the stability of the unit by the repositioning of the front horizontal rail. Such repositioning should provide for both U.S. and European bed heights.
It is yet a further objective of the present invention that the co-sleeper be adjacent the parents' bed but at a level below the level of the parents' bed. Another objective of the present invention is to provide means to adjust the height of the co-sleeper to conform to the different bed heights. A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a secure washable enclosure for an infant of small child.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a playpen in which an infant or small child can be tended to by a care-giver that is physically handicapped. A further objective of the present invention is to provide a unit that folds easily for storage and transport.
It is still a further objective of the invention to provide a playpen with a floor which can withstand repeated jumping and rough play by an infant or small child without sagging or the risk of breakage. The floor should be constructed of a mesh material to prevent accidental suffocation of an infant or small child who might find his or her way underneath the co-sleeper mattress.
It is yet a further objective to provide an easily convertible playpen that includes strong, secure hinging mechanisms for the playpen support members. Such mechanisms should lock the members securely in place and yet be simple and easy to release when required. These mechanisms should be padded and enclosed so that movable metallic parts are not accessible to an infant or small child's fingers.
It is still a further objective of the invention to provide for simple adjustments to the height of the front wall of the co-sleeper while preventing injury to any small fingers that may be inserted into the openings in the adjustment mechanism.
It is another objective to minimize any loose fabric associated with the co-sleeper mattress that could conceivably cause asphyxiation of an infant or small child.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be seen from the following description and drawings.